Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

I wrote a post earlier about setting up this part of the trip but for those of you trying to do something similar here is the rest of the story.

We had already purchased our tickets on the overnight bus from Shenzhen to Pingxiang so all that remained was to complete the trip. We left Hong Kong around noon and simply reversed the subway trip we took in. It seemed to be much quicker and easier, oddly enough, to get into China than into HK and we arrived in Shenzhen around 2.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the only restaurant in the bus terminal with our HK roommate Ollie. He arrived the second day we were in HK en route to becoming an english teacher in China. It’s always nice to meet up with new people even if it is only for a short time. He took off for the airport and we boarded our bus with our other new friend Oyea. Oyea lives in Pingxiang and was more than happy to show us the ropes.

We boarded the bus at 640pm and were more than pleasantly surprised. The bunks were definitely small but clean. There are three rows of beds two high for the length of the bus. I’d highly recommend getting a top bunk as people will eventually be sleeping in the aisles so you may end up sleeping much closer to someone than you’d want to be. Also if it’s possible ask to get the top bunks at the very front of the bus as you’ll gets bit of extra room. There’ll be enough space to store your bag if it’s just a backpack which is probably a good idea.

The bus took off from the station at 640 but it didn’t actually hit the highway until about 9. The bus stopped a lot. People got on about every 15 minutes or so which is why I think it’s a good idea to keep your bag on the bus with you. The belly of the bus is opened ad shut at every stop so it’s not unbelievable that your bag may get “lost” in the shuffle.

At around 930 we pulled into the station in Pingxiang. I think it may have been possible to get dropped at the border or close to it as they made quite a few stops before the station but we didn’t ask. The minute you get off the bus you’ll be asked if you want a ride to the border. Go through the station and grab a cab. Our friend Oyea put is in a taxi and said we should pay 25RMB for the ride. It seems reasonable as it’s about a 20 minute ride.

You’ll be dropped at something that looks like a tourist attraction. There’s a booth on the left selling tickets but this is not for the border. Do not buy a ticket just head through on the left. First you’ll go through Chinese immigration then through Vietnamese immigration. Both are pretty straight forward.

As soon as you exit Vietnamese immigration there will be golf carts waiting to take you to where you catch the minibuses to Hanoi. They charge 1USD per person but it’s completely unnecessary to take these as the bus stop is only about 1km down the road.

The minibus drivers will be all over you when you enter the little parking lot. We only as the one but there may be other options. They will wait for the bus to be full and they will also pick people up along the way. Ours even stopped for lunch en route. Remember there is a time change when you cross the border so you gain an hour. We left the border around 1015 and arrived in Hanoi at about 330. The trip was 5USD each.